How to use this: open the walkthrough first and go at your own pace with the arrow keys or Next. Then open the Lab: run the simulator, practice in the trainer with its hints and worked solutions, and try the real-world scenarios. Use the tools bar at the top of each page to pause the animations, slow them down, have the text read aloud, or get a written description of each picture. Nothing here is graded.
Module 1 Mendelian transmission and probability
Segregation and independent assortment on chromosomes, multi-gene crosses, probability rules, binomial and conditional problems, chi square and pedigree risk.
- Segregation
- Independent assortment
- Branch diagrams
- Product and sum rules
- Binomial expansion
- Conditional probability
- Chi square
- Pedigree risk
Module 2 Extensions of Mendel and gene interaction
Dominance at the protein level, multiple alleles, lethal alleles, penetrance and expressivity, epistasis ratios, complementation tests and environmental effects.
- Incomplete dominance
- Codominance
- Multiple alleles
- Lethal alleles
- Penetrance
- Epistasis
- 9:7, 9:3:4, 12:3:1, 15:1
- Complementation test
- Norms of reaction
Module 3 Sex determination, sex linkage and extranuclear inheritance
Sex determination systems, X-linked inheritance and Bridges' nondisjunction, dosage compensation, sex-influenced traits, imprinting, maternal effect and mitochondrial inheritance.
- SRY
- X-linked inheritance
- Bridges' nondisjunction
- Pseudoautosomal regions
- X inactivation
- Sex-influenced traits
- Genomic imprinting
- Maternal effect
- Mitochondrial inheritance
Module 4 Linkage and genetic mapping
Linkage and recombination, three-point testcross mapping with interference, mapping functions, fungal tetrads, LOD scores and physical maps.
- Coupling and repulsion
- Recombination frequency
- Three-point mapping
- Interference
- Haldane mapping function
- Tetrad analysis
- LOD scores
- Physical maps
Module 5 Bacterial and viral genetics
Conjugation and Hfr interrupted mating, transformation and transduction mapping, phage plaque assays, Benzer's rII fine structure and the cistron.
- Replica plating
- F plasmid and Hfr
- Interrupted mating
- Cotransformation
- Cotransduction
- Plaque assays
- Benzer rII
- Cis-trans test
- Reassortment
Module 6 Chromosome mutations
Karyotypes, deletions and duplications, inversion loops, translocation segregation, Robertsonian translocations, aneuploidy and polyploidy.
- Karyotype notation
- Deletions
- Duplications
- Inversion loops
- Reciprocal translocations
- Robertsonian translocations
- Nondisjunction
- Polyploidy
Module 7 DNA replication and recombination
DNA topology, the bacterial and eukaryotic replisomes, licensing, fidelity, telomeres, Holliday junctions, double-strand break repair and gene conversion.
- Supercoiling
- Linking number
- Replisome
- Origin licensing
- Fidelity
- Telomerase
- Holliday junction
- Gene conversion
Module 8 Transcription and RNA processing
Bacterial promoters and sigma factors, termination, eukaryotic polymerases and promoters, capping, polyadenylation, splicing, alternative splicing, editing and NMD.
- Promoter consensus
- Sigma factors
- Termination
- RNA polymerases I, II, III
- 5' cap
- Splicing
- Alternative splicing
- RNA editing
- Nonsense-mediated decay
Module 9 The genetic code and translation
Cracking the code with frameshifts and synthetic RNAs, wobble, tRNA charging, ribosomes, initiation to termination, suppressors and antibiotics.
- Crick-Brenner frameshifts
- Synthetic copolymers
- Wobble
- Aminoacyl tRNA synthetases
- Shine-Dalgarno and Kozak
- Elongation
- Nonsense suppression
- Antibiotics
Module 10 Gene regulation in bacteria
The lac operon with merodiploid analysis, catabolite repression, trp attenuation, AraC, riboswitches, small RNAs, two-component systems and quorum sensing.
- lac operon
- Merodiploids
- Cis vs trans
- CAP and cAMP
- trp attenuation
- AraC
- Riboswitches
- Quorum sensing
- Lambda switch
Module 11 Gene regulation and epigenetics in eukaryotes
Chromatin and the histone code, DNA methylation, enhancers, silencers and insulators, the GAL system, RNA interference and epigenetic inheritance.
- Chromatin remodeling
- Histone marks
- DNA methylation
- Enhancers and insulators
- GAL system
- miRNA and siRNA
- Imprinting
- Epigenetics in cancer
- ChIP
Module 12 Mutation, repair and transposable elements
Mutation types, repeat expansions, spontaneous and induced mutation, the fluctuation and Ames tests, repair pathways and transposable elements.
- Transitions and transversions
- Repeat expansion
- Mutagens
- Luria-Delbruck
- Ames test
- Excision repair
- Mismatch repair
- Double-strand break repair
- Transposons
Module 13 Molecular genetic tools
Restriction mapping, cloning vectors and screening, libraries, PCR and qPCR, blots and sequencing, knockouts, RNAi, CRISPR and forward genetic screens.
- Restriction mapping
- Cloning vectors
- Blue-white screening
- PCR primers
- Delta delta Ct
- Blots
- Sanger sequencing
- CRISPR
- Cre-lox
Module 14 Genomics
Genome sequencing and assembly, coverage, annotation, genome features, comparative genomics, RNA-seq, metagenomics and genome-wide association studies.
- Shotgun assembly
- Coverage
- ORFs
- Orthologs and paralogs
- SNPs and CNVs
- Linkage disequilibrium
- RNA-seq
- Metagenomics
- GWAS
Module 15 Quantitative genetics
Polygenic inheritance, variance partitioning, broad and narrow heritability, twin and adoption studies, response to selection, QTLs and polygenic scores.
- Polygenic traits
- Variance components
- Heritability
- Twin studies
- Breeder's equation
- Artificial selection
- QTL mapping
- Polygenic scores
Module 16 Population and evolutionary genetics
Hardy-Weinberg, inbreeding and F, mutation-selection balance, migration, drift and Ne, selection equilibria, neutral theory and dN/dS.
- Hardy-Weinberg
- Inbreeding coefficient
- Mutation-selection balance
- Migration
- Effective population size
- Genetic drift
- Heterozygote advantage
- Neutral theory
- dN/dS
Module 17 Developmental and cancer genetics
Stem cells and cloning, fly axis formation and Hox genes, the ABC flower model, programmed cell death, oncogenes, tumor suppressors and targeted therapy.
- iPS cells
- Bicoid gradient
- Segmentation genes
- Hox genes
- ABC model
- Two-hit hypothesis
- Oncogenes
- Tumor suppressors
- Multistep cancer
Module 18 Human inheritance and risk
Pedigree notation, human inheritance patterns, penetrance and anticipation, carrier and Bayesian risk calculations, consanguinity and multifactorial traits.
- Pedigree notation
- Autosomal patterns
- X-linked patterns
- Mitochondrial inheritance
- Anticipation
- Carrier risk
- Bayesian risk
- Consanguinity
- Multifactorial traits
Module 19 Genetic testing and counseling
Newborn, carrier and prenatal screening, diagnostic methods, test performance and predictive values, variant classification, counseling and genetic privacy law.
- Newborn screening
- Carrier screening
- cfDNA screening
- Karyotype, FISH, microarray
- Exome and genome sequencing
- Positive predictive value
- Variants of uncertain significance
- Counseling
- GINA